


And the rain won't make any difference

by andthestarsthatshine



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-04
Updated: 2014-02-04
Packaged: 2018-01-11 05:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1168991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthestarsthatshine/pseuds/andthestarsthatshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt fill for the TMP Hiatus Ficathon</p><p>'Weird would be if the train stopped and when you got off it was suddenly the 1940s.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	And the rain won't make any difference

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Calliope_Soars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calliope_Soars/gifts).



> Title taken from Ernest Hemingway's 'A Farewell to Arms'.
> 
> Also, I'd recommend watching Midnight in Paris because there's some inspiration from there (more so in a later part but still).

‘Mindy! Will you stop narrating?!’

‘Oh Danny, don’t be such an old man. So many interesting love stories are starting on this train.’ She smiled wistfully as she looked around at the people filling the carriage.

‘There is nothing interesting about it whatsoever. It’s pretty mundane actually.’ He thought for a moment and then added under his breath. ‘And I bet most of them will end up divorced.’

Mindy heard him and turned to face him. ‘Ok, just because some harpy ruined your life that doesn’t mean these people’s love stories are doomed to fail, alright?’

He considered her for a moment before abruptly tearing his gaze away, suddenly remarkably interested in his shoelaces. His shoes didn’t even have laces. _But what if they did?_ he thought to himself. Just as he was about to get hopelessly lost in his imaginary shoelace fantasy, he felt Mindy nudge him lightly with her elbow and he looked up at her.

‘And you’ll find someone too, Danny. I promise.’ She smiled at him, her natural optimism radiating across her face.

Danny sighed heavily. ‘You can’t promise that, Min. No one can.’

They had just pulled up to their stop and she threaded her arm through his as they walked out onto the platform together. ‘Danny, you’re a catch. You’ll find happiness.’ She smiled at him with such sincerity that he couldn’t bring himself to say what he was thinking. So he just nodded slightly and focused his attention forward as they ascended the steps leading to the street.

* * *

 

They walked down the street in a companionable silence before Danny abruptly stopped, causing Mindy to turn to look at him with confusion.

‘Danny?’ She was getting a little concerned with the way he was frozen on the spot, eyes wide.

She looked around at passersby and noticed that they were all staring at her and Danny. Then she took in the clothes these strangers were wearing and slowly she took in her surroundings and realised that something was wrong.

‘Oh my God, what is happening? Is this some elaborate prank?’

‘Yeah, Min, because the whole of New York is conspiring to confuse the hell out of us.’

‘Ok, buddy, enough with the attitude.’ She held up her hand and focused her steely gaze on him.

He huffed out a breath and shoved his hands into his pockets. ‘Well now what?’

‘We find out what’s going on!’

‘What’s the plan?’

‘Hm. We could head to the practice like normal. See what’s happening there?’

‘Yeah. Yeah ok. Let’s go.’

* * *

 

They both arrived to where the practice should have been and were faced with a completely different building.

‘Woah,’ Mindy said as she looked up in wonder.

‘I-I think we’re in the 1940s.’ Danny’s voice was quiet and full of awe as he looked up at the building before him.

Mindy’s head snapped towards him. ‘What? How can you tell from a building?’

‘Look at the architecture.’ He stepped forward to brush his hand across the building. ‘It’s clearly built in the early 1940s and you can tell it was built quite recently because-‘

Mindy cut him off abruptly. ‘Ok, ok. You’re some architecture nerd. We get it. But how did we end up in the 1940s? Danny, this makes no sense.’

‘Tell me about it. Man, I love this decade though. It had so much class. Real men were found everywhere – they had a certain kind of charm that we’ve lost as a generation. And the women had so much grace.’

‘Ok, you little weirdo. But wait, if it’s the 1940s, wouldn’t we be at war right now?’

Danny thought for a moment and walked off when something caught his eye.

‘Danny! Where are you going?!’ she practically screamed, garnering some startled gasps from passersby, before running after him.

Danny picked up a newspaper, throwing far too much cash at the man at the stall.

‘Seriously, Danny? You’re choosing now to casually pick up a newspaper and read?’

‘Look. It has a date. We’re in 1946.’

‘Oh. Well, at least the war is over.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Why isn’t it black and white here?’

‘You have got to be kidding me.’

* * *

 

At Mindy’s insistence, they ventured inside one of the shops that she found near where the practice was supposed to be.

‘Danny, I need to keep up with the fashion. I’m nearly seven decades ahead of them! I don’t know what’s hot this season!’

‘There are literally hundreds of women walking the streets!’

‘Er, no, there are hundreds of men! Most of the women are cooped up at home like good little housewives because they have no choice thanks to patriarchy and a lack of feminism.’

‘Ok, that’s not quite-‘

‘It’s terrible, Danny. And don’t pretend you would know their pain. You’re a man after all.’

‘Oh, come on!’ He was about to go on a rant about how wrong she was but thought better of it and instead sighed heavily. ‘Fine. Whatever.’

She grinned at him as if she had just won the argument and he felt his heart stop at the sight of her, smiling wide with sparkling eyes. He cleared his throat and tore his eyes away from her. ‘So…I take it you’ll be buying some clothes then?’

‘Danny. That is a great idea!’

He groaned as she tugged at the sleeve of his coat, dragging him into the shop excitedly.

‘Ok, I can totally pull this off! And this! And this!’ Mindy picked up a few items of clothing.

‘Are you even going to try those on?’

‘Duh. But I need to pick out a lot of clothes so I can try on different looks together. You know, see what works.’

‘Right. Of course.’

‘Where are the flapper dresses?’

‘You’re thinking of the 1920s.’

‘Oh.’ With a shrug, she walked away leaving Danny to follow closely behind.

* * *

 

Mindy eventually decided on a few clothes she felt certain she could pull off without looking too out of place and, after much coaxing, found a few things for Danny to wear too.

When they came to pay for it, Mindy handed over her credit card out of habit and the sales assistant gave her an odd look.

‘Oh. Right. Cash it is. How much does it come up to?’

‘Um, ma’am, we can’t allow you to pay for these.’

‘Why not?’

‘This store is specifically for people…not of your kind.’

‘Exsqueeze me?!’

‘There is a different store down the street you can try if-‘

‘WHAT!? I have the money to pay for it! What’s the problem?’

‘There’s nothing I can do about it.’

‘Let me speak to your manager!’

‘Min, please, let’s just go. Forget about it. We should be figuring out how to get back not waste time buying clothes!’ Danny urged, tugging at her arm.

Mindy spun around to face him and stabbed at his chest with her finger. ‘Not a chance, mister!’

‘Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to stop harassing that man.’

Mindy turned back to the sales assistant. ‘Are you kidding me?! He’s a friend of mine! And I’m not harassing him!’

‘Mindy. Please, let’s just go before they drag you out.’ She allowed herself to be led out of the shop by Danny when she saw that there was a crowd of people around her.

‘There’s a reason why we don’t serve people like you,’ the sales assistant muttered under her breath.

Mindy turned her head sharply towards the woman ready to launch into an attack before she heard Danny’s voice ring out from behind her.

‘Alright listen, lady, that’s enough! That’s not called for! We’re going, alright? No need for the attitude!’

Danny turned on his heel and stormed out, dragging Mindy along by the hand.

‘Danny. Danny! Stop!’ Mindy pleaded with him.

Once they were back out on to the street, Danny turned to her, loosening his grip on her hand but not quite letting go. ‘Sorry. Did I hurt you?’

‘Well, you might have crushed my fingers a bit!’ He knew by the smile on her face that she wasn’t truly angry at him.

‘Sorry,’ he said again before looking down at his feet.

‘It’s ok. And thanks. For defending me.’

He looked up to meet her eyes and nodded slightly. ‘Any time, Min.’

‘Any decade.’ She laughed a little as they were brought back to the absurdity of their situation.

* * *

 

They were both heading back to the station from which they came when they bumped into a couple who weren’t paying much attention to where they were going.  

‘Oh I am so sorry!’ a tall man, dressed in a well-tailored suit, apologised profusely.

‘Oh…it’s ok.’ Mindy said, looking back at Danny in slight confusion.

‘If you don’t mind me asking…where are you two from? It’s just that I’ve never seen clothes quite like that!’ the woman beside him asked with nothing but open curiosity.

‘Oh. Funny story. But we’re actually from the twenty-first century,’ Danny spoke, laughing a little at the ridiculousness of it all.

The couple stared at Danny and Mindy for a few seconds before erupting into a round of laughter.

Realising that they weren’t going to buy it, Danny decided to think on his feet. ‘Obviously, I’m just joking…um, I come from a long line of…wealthy bankers. Yes, I’m a banker. And this is Mindy…a servant of the house-‘

‘WHAT?!’ Mindy screeched interrupting him. Danny looked at her briefly and shot her an apologetic look before continuing.

‘-and I took it upon myself to get her some new clothes. I know a few places but they’ll only let her in if I’m around so…’

Mindy crossed her arms in a huff and started tapping her foot. ‘I would prefer it if you did NOT call me a servant and I’m fully capable of dressing myself thank you very much!’

Danny laughed nervously at the couple standing in front of them, as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

‘Oh…of course. You must be from the Anderson family then? They’re the wealthiest family bankers in the city.’

Danny hesitated for a minute before nodding. ‘Yes. Yes, that’s right. I’m Daniel Anderson.’ He extended his hand towards the man in front of him.

‘Ah, yes, Daniel. I’ve heard so much about you!’

Danny looked back at Mindy and she just shrugged in response.

‘I’m George and this is my wife Veronica.’ They both smiled amiably as George shook Danny’s hand.

Mindy still stood there with her arms crossed, throwing daggers at Danny.

‘What is it, Mindy?’ Danny asked, his voice cracking a little on her name.

‘Still not happy you’re referring to me as your _servant_ , Daniel.’

Veronica gasped. ‘Your servant calls you by your first name?’

Danny found himself having to think on his feet once again. ‘Um, yes, well you see the truth is…’ he looked over to Mindy to see her looking back at him expectantly, eyebrows raised. He took a deep breath and turned his attention back to George and Veronica as he continued with his lie.

‘The truth is I fell in love with Mindy a long time ago. I tried to fight it because it went against everything I stood for, everything I was taught through the unexpected lessons I had learnt throughout my life. But I just couldn’t stay away from her. I couldn’t keep denying my feelings for her because it was just making me miserable. She made me happy though. She was like a little spark of light that only grew bigger until I could no longer ignore her. But, of course, falling in love with her, marrying her, would never be allowed by my family so we made a decision. We decided that we would leave together, leave everything behind and start a new life somewhere where we won’t be judged for falling in love. That’s why she doesn’t like it when I refer to her as my servant because she is so much more than that and she knows it.’ Danny looked over at Mindy with a soft expression, one that both George and Veronica recognised as a clear sign of a man in love. Mindy looked like she was about to cry, glossy eyed and mouth slightly open.

This was about as close as he came to admitting his feelings for her. He was surprised at how easily the words flowed from his mouth when he thought of her. Everything he felt for her never seemed clearer than it did the minute he spoke those words.

‘Danny.’ His name came out in a breathy whisper. ‘That is so romantic!’

His eyes went wide as Veronica said, ‘You seem surprised by your own love story!’ Danny elbowed Mindy sharply in her side to bring her back to the pretense that they were supposed to be keeping up.

‘I…of course, I know how our own love story goes!’ Mindy laughed nervously as she threaded her arm through Danny’s, leaning into him a little. ‘I just get bowled away by the way he talks about it, I sometimes forget that it’s my story!’ She smiled and hoped that that was a satisfactory answer. Danny lightly squeezed the hand that was wrapped around his arm and smiled down at her.

‘Well, that certainly is a very romantic story! You know, if you have nowhere to go, we would be happy to let you stay at our place for tonight,’ Veronica said enthusiastically.

‘Um…’ Mindy began.

‘That’s very nice of you but we can’t impose on you like that,’ Danny stated simply.

‘Nonsense! It would be no imposition at all and we welcome the company!’ George said decisively.

Danny looked at Mindy and she nodded slightly in response. ‘Ok then. Just for tonight. Thank you, both of you.’

* * *

 

Mindy had got changed into one of the dresses that Veronica left for her and was being tended to by one of the servants who was tasked with styling her hair into a more era appropriate do.

Danny had changed into a suit that was just a touch too big for him but suited him well nonetheless and was sitting downstairs with George, the two of them drinking scotch.

Both Danny and George were deep in conversation talking about things that would have elicited an eye roll and exaggerated yawn from Mindy if she were there, when the woman in question made her way down the stairs with Veronica. George got up from where he was seated to plant a kiss on Veronica’s cheek and gush about how beautiful she looked when Danny saw Mindy. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. This decade really suited her if what she was wearing was anything to go by. The dress delicately complemented her curves and the bright colour was still so very Mindy that he found himself at a loss for words at how she could still maintain her own identity in a complete different world.

Danny slowly made his way over to Mindy, completely oblivious to the way George and Veronica were looking at him expectantly.

‘Mindy, you look beautiful.’ The words came out in a hushed tone and he was unable to hide the awe in his voice.

Mindy’s eyes went wide at this admission from Danny. He had never called her beautiful before and that simple statement had rendered her speechless for a moment. ‘Thank you, Danny,’ she just about managed to let out after what seemed like far too long without her saying anything.

Neither of them saw the way Veronica held her hand over her heart as she took in the scene before her before she reluctantly pulled them out of their trance and informed them that dinner was ready.


End file.
